Blue and black

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The last day of snorkelling for a while, and I’ve saved the best til last! Even though yesterday was supposedly “the best”, we all agreed that today was a highlight. Everyone was ordered out of bed at a reasonable hour and we headed towards Captain Cook to pick up some kayaks. A loose ‘safety’ briefing (as we’d already signed our lives away with the obligatory waiver), some life jackets attached to the back of the kayak, lessons on how to get back in, and we were on our way.

It seems that the rudder troubles that plagued our kayak on the river persisted to the ocean and before long, Eloise and I were headed for NZ. Luckily it gave us ample opportunity to blast out some tunes with only the judgement of Neptune and the whales. I’m sure they enjoyed it as much as we did.

Despite our significant westerly detour, we made it to the monument area and ‘moored’…by jumping in with the kayak’s rope attached to us. Passed quite a few enjoyable hours snorkelling along the coast, kayaks in tow, marvelling at the clear blue water, the variety of fish and the sparkling coral. The girls entertained themselves with diving down and chasing ‘zedra’ fish and the hours passed by.

Another form of entertainment came watching Mother attempt to climb back into the kayak since mooring was not allowed. Luckily my two attempts proved nowhere near as amusing as the spectator sport of ‘watching Americans capsize their kayaks’ that had quite a few commendable entries.

Another glorious rendition for the west Hawaiian sea creatures before we made it back to our mooring. Word had obviously spread of our musical magnificence and Squirt the Turtle had come to the shallows hoping for a personal show. Sadly for him, we were too captivated with his bobbing about around our legs to launch into any of Sound of Music.

Back to our beautiful view for a last night BBQ and magical sunset. And maybe a wine or two.

Our time had come to leave the shore and we headed south for a change of scene. If the theme of the preceding few days was ‘blue’, the best few have definitely been ‘black’. Luckily not in the metaphorical sense, but quite literally with sand, sky and lava.

We stopped for lunch at Punalu’u Beach - black sand and a reliable location for spotting turtles resting. Pleased to report both in residence. Quite a few turtles resting, some waiting in the waves to come to shore and another lot clearly building the intestinal fortitude to attempt the significant challenge of lumbering up the beach.

Continued on towards Volcano village and felt like we’d entered a different planet. Leaving the beaches and coast of the western side of the island, we travelled through rolling fields and dramatic cliffs to arrive in the pouring rain to ferns and rainforest. By the descriptions I’d read and location, we were assuming the ‘village’ was just that but it’s a strange spread-out collection of houses with a few ‘general stores’ and not much else we could find of significance. No matter, we checked into our accommodation and assumed we could find something of more interest in Hilo.

Incorrect. We headed straight to Rainbow Falls which was mildly scenic, but rated as one of ‘top’ attractions in the area. We quickly discovered why. The drive around town proved underwhelming. A walk in a Japanese inspired garden killed some time before the stark realisation that driving was a far better way to experience all Hilo had to offer, particularly if viewed in the rear-view mirror. The downtown area was a charming mix of deserted shops and homeless shanty towns and we were pleased to escape to a restaurant for dinner.

Unfortunately the cloud cover played havoc with our planned star gazing activity for the evening, resulting in a lot of driving and uncertainty before we headed up the Saddle Road through the mist and rain to our meeting point. Some significant scepticism before we were directed to a location near the Manua Kea visitors centre where our gazing location was set up.

As predicted by our guide James, the clouds cleared on cue and we were afforded a spectacular view of the sky above. He used his camera set up so show us several constellations, red giants (Betelgeuse), a nebula in the Milky Way, some galaxies (some 65 million light years away), a flickering Sirius and the southern cross. It was a spectacular show and we were pleased to have persisted despite the long drive home and late night.

A sleep in was needed after last night’s antics so we had a late start to our excursion around Volcanoes National Park. I’d discovered an audio guide to direct us around, which proved even more instructive and patient than my usual guidance, with the added bonus of terrible jokes punctuated by laughter, to ensure we knew a joke had been made. Stops at the steam vents and several overlooks to Kilauea’s crater before we headed down Chain of Craters Road. Some stops at craters along the way, where the ‘roof’ of the lava had collapsed, creating a gaping hole in the landscape.

Then we reached the area of a fissure created by a 1978 eruption where we could walk on the lava field and inspect the many colourful pieces of lava as well as the huge cracks the eruption had caused. It was much like we imagined the surface of Mars might look and we were all captivated, particularly having it all to ourselves to explore. The dazzling colours in some of the rocks and the burnt out trees added to the eerie desolate feeling.

We continued down the road, enjoying the stark landscapes of lava flow, enlikened by our chuckling guide to just-cooked brownie. Heading towards the coast, we enjoyed the view of the lava flows plummeting over the precipice towards the sea. Our guide recommended a stop at some petroglyphs - carvings in the lava by the native people, significant in their spiritual representation of birth. While I’m not convinced they were worth the hot and windy trek across the desolate lava fields, it did cause us to question why anyone would choose to inhabit such a stark and unforgiving area.

A final stop at the Holei sea arch where the lava reached the sea before we turned around and drove back up the hill. A quick stop at the lava tube (nothing on Iceland, sorry Hawaii) before the obligatory gift shop stop. A frantic search for a restaurant that was open finally yielded some much-needed pizza…and an early night. Off to Oahu tomorrow!

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